Ironstar Keep
The Silverthorn Keep is a human-built fortress that protects the village of x at the edge of the The Azure Vale in the March of Evanyl , Barony of Briarwood. History The fortress overlooking the Shadow Bloom Valley was originally created as the Barony of Briarwood was expanding into the region and settling the March that would become known as Blackthorn. The valley was seen as a vertile source of both Shadow Bloom (as a potential dye export) as well as prime farming country to further bolster the resources of the growing barony. It was also the home to a clan of Kobolds who had made Shadowscale Cave their home. Before long the human settlers in the valley came into conflict with the kobolds and over time the attacks from Shadowscale Cave became increasingly more difficult to repell. The Shadowscale Clan of Kobolds, being of the darker, smaller variety of their race, relied upon cunning and trickery rather than blunt force to drive the humans out of their valley. The kobolds enchanted several of the large, native beasts found within their caves to serve as living battering rams to assault the walls while others of their clan assaulted the forces by riding upon giant bats to carry them over the walls. These bat-riding kobolds dropped alchemical bombs which burned anything splashed by the sticky green mixture similar to Bale Fire. The final attack upon the fortress drove the humans away - forcing them to abandon the village, the valley and the stronghold all together. Those few survivors who made it out alive reported seeing the keep engulfed in green flames that light up the night sky all the way to the bridge that crossed the Shadowrun River. The keep was abandoned for nearly a decade before the Baron of Briarwood charged Lord Dannyr Silverthorn to retake the keep and settle the valley once more. Reclaiming the Fortress When Lord Silverthorn was given the task of reclaiming the Shadowbloom Valley, he knew that there would be need for considerable renovations and repairs to the old fortress. Having sit abandoned for nearly a decade, there was no way of knowing just how much damage had been done when it fell. To account for nearly any eventuality in the reclamation, Lord Silverthorn hired a dozen craftsmen ranging from masons, carpenters, smiths and quarrymen with nearly twice as many laborers to assist them. It would be a massive effort. He was also counting on the fact that should they fall under attack, each of those men would surely fight for their own lives and thus add to his number of troops. To augment this potential militia the lord purchased enough bows to put one in the hand of every man and five barrels of arrows. They need not be accurate to simply deter the enemy. Lord Silverthorn's first task was to repair the bridge that was destroyed by the Kobolds shortly after their attack on the fortress. Once that was complete he would be able to move his troops further along the road and to the edge of the valley to survey the damage. 'Damage:' The principle damage to the fortress was in the shape of large breaches in the perimeter walls. Two sections of the wall had been collapsed by the monstrous battering rams and a third section nearly fell and would need to be rebuilt. Fire damage was extensive, consuming any and all wood-framed construction within the yard leaving black streaks up the sides of the walls - even glazing the stone smooth in a few places. Lord Silverthorn had to secure the fortress immediately to provide for the safety of his men and so ordered his engineer to plug the gaps in the wall as best could they could be and repair the main gates as quickly as possible. 'Scouting:' Once the Lord's men had swept through the fortress from dungeon to bailey, twice, he declared that it had been abandoned. A long-growing concern of the Lord and the Baron was that it had been taken over either by kobolds or by another monstrous race in their absence. With this fear put to rest, the Lord was able to assign a number of the laborers to begin clearing out the great hall and tower. Though it had been a decade and the bale fire had consumed almost everything that it had touched, there were many corpses still left within the walls of those who did not make it out alive. Lord Silverthorn was adament that each of the bodies be given a proper funeral at the earliest opportunity. Layout Silverthorn Keep, renamed as such after Lord Silverthorn reclaimed the ruined fortress, is a typical keep of the Marches. Four towers and a perimeter curtain wall with barbican surround a central, stone hall. In the case of Silverthorn Keep, the central stone hall is augmented with a secondary, great tower to adequately accomodate the needs of the garrison and noble family within. 'The Hall: ' The Hall was constructed to serve as the Great and central gathering place for the garrison and the noble family within the fortress. The original builders also thought to make it large enough that the villagers would be able to congregate within it for special occasions and, should the need arise, safety. Two stories tall, the hall is complete with a great dining hall on the second floor with a kitchen, pantry and bath on the bottom level. A small cellar, under the pantry area in the east corner, is large enough for cold storage. 'The Great Tower:' The Great Tower is, essentially, the Keep of the fortress. Accessible originally by an entrance at ground level, Lord Silverthorn walled that up and move the entrance to the second level with a platformed stair and faux bridge that could be raised should the fortress ever come under attack. The second and third floors are where the Lord and his family reside. 'Additions:' When Lord Silverthorn took possession of the fortress, he instructed his engineer to construct two additional buildings within the yard to properly house his troops and their supply of horses. The barracks, to the east, are nearly identical to the stables, to the west. Each are a two story, stone building with the stables having wider doors. The barracks accomodates twenty men per floor. The stables holds a dozen horses and an additional ten men, servants and grooms, above. Category:Fortress/Human Category:Fortress/North Marches Category:Fortress/Briarwood Category:Holding/Ironstar Category:Fortification/Stronghold